Emmanuel Macron inaugurates the Olympic village this Thursday, February 29.
Located between Saint-Ouen, Saint-Denis and L’Ile-Saint-Denis, the Olympic village of Paris 2024 Olympics will be officially inaugurated this Thursday, February 29 by President Emmanuel Macron. In total, there are 330,000 m2 floor; 52 hectares, or 70 football fields and 14,250 beds which were created for the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
The titanic project was completed without exceeding the budget of 4.5 billion euros (including 1.7 of which was public money). Its promoters also tout a project made in France: “99% of the companies are French. 2,200 VSEs and SMEs, coming from 86 departments, worked. All of France built the Olympic Village”, explains Nicolas Ferrand, executive general director of Solideo (public establishment responsible for the construction and renovation of Olympic and Paralympic infrastructures) to Le Figaro.
Athletes’ rooms
“The accommodations are oversized, they had to be accessible to Paralympic athletes. This involves the width of the doors, the width of the corridors, the heights of the sockets, the colors, so as not to have white on white, for people with vision problems. There was also a lot of work done in the shower to make it easy to move around in.“, also explains Florence Chahid-Nourai, Île-de-France project director at Icade
Images of the Olympic Village
An “Olympic square” is also planned in this village. “A spiral reminiscent of rings. This is where the athletes will be welcomed, where they will be able to meet their families and journalists. The most symbolic heart of the Village is there. There will be flags, light shows. With, behind, what will be the town hall during the Games and a building which will accommodate athletes, then the Ministry of the Interior. confides Nicolas Ferrand
A huge restaurant
A restaurant with more than 3,200 seats in the cinema city and another with 600 seats on Saint-Denis Island will be available to athletes. “Residents of the Olympic Village can come 50 times a day, it’s unlimited and open 24/7“, explains Laurent Pasteur, director of Sodexo Live. Let’s add to this “six grab and go (6 a.m. to 9 p.m.)” throughout the area. Despite the presence of numerous Coca Cola fountains, junk food will not really be at the forefront. meet with the presence of chefs Amandine Chaignot, Alexandre Mazzia and Akrame Benallal.
Four catering areas, one for French cuisine, one for Caribbean and African cuisine, one international and one Asian, in addition to the salad bar, will allow each athlete to respect their own diet.
Children prohibited
If a nursery should appear, the village will not be accessible to families and especially to the children of athletes. French Olympic athletes who wish to do so will be able to meet their children in the mixed zone, around the athletes’ square, between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. with an accompanying person, but like any non-accredited person, the family and children will not be able to sleep in the apartments of the village.
Adjustments to be expected
Everything is not completely ready despite the inauguration, around 9,000 trees and shrubs have yet to green the public spaces of the site. On Saint-Denis Island, three buildings (representing 500 beds), having suffered from operational problems, should only be delivered between March 15 and 30.
Remember that after the Olympic and Paralympic Games, the Village will be transformed into a district capable of accommodating 6,000 residents (in family and student housing, including 25% social housing on average) and 6,000 employees.